Retrospectives in the family

Proposer: François

Participants: Sebastian, Gitte, Alex, Charlotte, Christina, Klaus, Kerstin, Felix, Martin

Observations about family retrospectives:

  1. they feel natural (“So honey, how was your day?”)
  2. the ceremony / structure / regularity increases safety (children ask for it to be regularly scheduled)
  3. promise for a structured conversation
  4. as parents, we know about the power of appreciations
  5. triggered bottom-up or by events / data
  6. trust builds on the non-hierarchical, inclusive nature of the retro
  7. the purpose of family retros is hearing stories & nurturing relationships (not actionable outcomes)
  8. funerals are occasions for retrospectives & can become moments of shared recollection of joyful memories
  9. memory is collective, narrative & between people
  10. retrospectives should be fun!

Bringing this insight to our business retrospectives:

  1. What/who are our retrospectives triggered by?
  2. How much space/time do we give to “hearing the story” (belonging) vs. “coming up with an action item” (fixing)?
  3. Challenge: separate the purpose from the tangible outcome

Participants: Thanks for the open & profound session, please feel free to add your personal insights!